The internet is free. The tools are free. Content is free. Social
networks are free and users have gained the freedom of expression and
connectivity without constraint for free.
The only factors of user and producer cost is time, attention and trust.
The “free” model doesn’t fit well with traditional business models
and mindsets. People have a hard time figuring out how to convert
“free” to earnings. Most everyone considers the social web as a primary
point of distribution for advertising and view advertising as the only
means for converting free to earnings.
This paradox boggles the minds of many and most conclude
that the social web does not contribute to earnings thus lets not spend
lots of time, attention and resource engaging in all this “social
activity”. Sound familiar?
Most Businesses Currently Provide Numerous “Things” for Free:
- Customer support is free although a bad experience may cost plenty.
- Slick & expensive marketing materials are free although over hyped promises may cost plenty.
- Communicating is free although many types of communications cost plenty.
- IT support, internal and external, is free although unresolved problems may cost plenty.
- Mediums that provide interaction with customers and suppliers are free although most are poorly designed and cost plenty.
There are a number of other “free” things that business builds into
a product or service offering and the cost of “free” is built into the
overhead to run the business. However, the cost of poorly designed “free things”
and the subsequent impact on relationships, i.e. customers, suppliers
and markets, is rarely measured or itemized on financial statements or
shareholder reports.
The gurus of industry have always proclaimed the value of good
relationships with customers, suppliers and markets yet the
organizational designs and collective actions tend to but up barriers
and create consistently poor experiences that alienate relationships
with customers, suppliers, employees and entire markets.
Lets talk about two real time examples. Previously we had written a post about a very poor experience with Verizon’s customer support system which is touted as “free”. Just last week we spent over eight hours on the phone with our bank, Bank of America, trying to tract down a transaction.
After dealing with numerous phone prompts to get through numerous
instructions we ended up being passed around to nine, count them, nine
different people and to make matters worse none of these people could
provide an answer as to where the payment went.
To fuel the frustration further every time we were put on hold the automated messages kept repeating “Your
business is important to us and we value our relationships. Please
stay on the line until our customer service representative can assist
you. The next customer service representative will be available in NINE
MINUTES!”. In between this repeated message was “Have
you tried our free online banking service? Bank of America provides its
customers with free online banking to serve all your personal and
professional needs“.
To further aggravate this situation none of the real people we
talked to were allowed to give us their full name, direct phone number
or email address. Go figure, just how important or valued is my
relationship? Actions speak louder than words but words spread on the
social web can indeed create actions.
Will This “Free” Message Be Copied and Create Influence?
Kevin Kelly writes: “The
internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies
every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon
it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to
another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message
be copied along the way several times. The digital economy is thus run
on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the
machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free.
There are a number of qualities that can’t be copied. Consider
“trust.” Trust cannot be copied. You can’t purchase it. Trust must be
earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited
(at least for long). If everything else is equal, you’ll always prefer
to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has
increasing value in a copy saturated world”.
This blog has received 180,000 pages views since Jan.1 by over
30,000 “connected users”. Those users have second degree connections of
over 3 million people.
The social web magnifies peoples experience with
business, good and bad. Bad experiences can be remedied by simply
following the basics of creating good relationships. However, the very
systemic design of many businesses are not friendly to establishing and
maintaining good relations rather the “relationship experiences” are
anti-social to say the least. Most people who read this post will relate and pass the message on, one to one to millions.
The social web is indeed free but the cost can be very high
to those businesses that don’t understand the power of free. How good
or bad you are at free could influence how much you earn
What say you?